Chapter 39: The Trail of Silver

Chapter 39: Chapter 39: The Trail of Silver

Four days into the manhunt, and all they had to show for it was dead ends, rumors, false sightings, frightened informants, and criminal networks that seemed to know just enough to waste everyone’s time.

Aria’s team was moving toward another city now, chasing a chain of tips pieced together from half a dozen sources none of them trusted.

One informant swore Vesper had gone east. Another was just as certain she’d gone west.

A third insisted she’d already crossed the continent entirely. The Association had confirmed almost none of it, they were firing arrows into the dark and hoping one eventually hit something.

The transport dropped toward their next destination, and Aria looked out at the sprawl of the city below. "Same procedure."

Within minutes of landing, all fifteen of them had melted intoprocedure: no uniforms, no obvious power on display, no recognizable formation. Merchants, workers, travelers, hired muscle.

Felix was walking the crowded streets in a plain dark jacket, hands in his pockets, an earpiece connecting him to the rest.

"Check the eastern market."

"Already did."

"Nothing in the south."

"Three organizations checked, no connection."

"There’s an underground auction tonight."

"Confirmed. Heading there now."

Felix changed direction.

---

The auction was exactly what he’d expect: illegal weapons, stolen monster cores, banned materials, forged documents.

And tucked among the usual contraband, something that actually caught his eye.

Gold. A lot of it. Several heavy bars, being looked over by a cluster of suspicious buyers, with silver sitting right beside them, the quantity too large, the purity too clean, and whoever was moving it had clearly gone to real trouble to keep the whole thing quiet.

Felix watched from a distance, then followed one of the men carrying the bars out. Within the hour, the man had led him to a warehouse on the edge of the city.

Felix stepped in after him, and the smuggler barely got turned around before Felix hit him.

He came to a few minutes later, tied to a chair, Felix crouched in front of him. "Let’s try the easy way."

Silence.

"Fine, then."

The easy way didn’t last. By the time Felix finished with him, the man was shaking too hard to keep protecting whoever was paying him.

"I don’t know who they are!"

"Try again."

"I’m telling you the truth!" A pause, then it all came out fast. "A cloaked person, that’s all I’ve got. They’ve contacted me a few times, they supply the gold and silver, I move it through the underground auctions."

"Why you?"

"Twenty-five percent of the profit, that’s why!"

"Where do you meet them?"

He gave up an address.

"When?"

"Tonight, same place. I’m supposed to hand over the money."

"Describe them."

He swallowed hard. "Fully covered. Cloak, gloves, face hidden, all of it."

"Male or female?"

"I don’t know."

Felix’s eyebrow went up. "You don’t know?"

"They never talked enough for me to tell,

voice was disguised the whole time."

Interesting. Very interesting.

Felix leaned in closer. "You’re completing the transaction tonight. Sell the merchandise, take the money, deliver it exactly the way you normally would."

The smuggler’s eyes went wide. "What? But—"

"If you run, I’ll find you." The smile that had been sitting on Felix’s face dropped completely. "And when I do, you’ll wish the Association had gotten to you first."

"Yes... yes, I’ll do it."

Felix let him go, then tapped his earpiece. "I might have something."

Aria’s voice came back instantly. "What?"

"Possible line on Vesper. Not confirmed."

"Location?"

"I’ll give you one once I’ve confirmed it."

"Understood."

He cut the call. Now all that was left was patience.

---

Night fell, and the smuggler followed his instructions to the letter, walking into the warehouse with a case full of cash.

Felix watched from cover, nothing for five minutes, then ten, and then a cloaked figure stepped out of the shadows.

The smuggler handed the case over. The figure checked it, then moved: a flash of motion, a needle thin enough that Felix nearly missed it entirely, and it caught the smuggler’s neck. He went limp on the spot.

Felix’s eyes sharpened. Metal. Precision. A technique that clean didn’t belong to anyone amateur.

He hit the comm. "Aria."

"I’m listening."

"Confirmed her."

A pause. "Vesper?"

"Yes." He transmitted the coordinates. "Everyone converge, now."

"Understood."

The moment he finished, he stepped out of the shadows. The cloaked figure turned toward him, and for a second neither of them moved.

Then Felix grinned. "Hello, Vesper."

She stayed perfectly still.

His smile widened. "Finally caught you."

The Silver Needle had been found.